Sri Lanka discloses another missing payment, days after hackers stole $2.5M from its finance ministry
The government of Sri Lanka has lost more than $3 million in two recent, separate cybersecurity incidents as the country continues to recover from its 2022 debt crisis.
TL;DR
- A payment of about $625,000 to the U.S. Postal Service is missing from Sri Lanka.
- U.S. officials reported the payment failed to arrive.
- Hackers allegedly tried to divert another payment intended for India.
- Australian officials are aware of irregularities in payments owed to their country.
- This follows a recent disclosure of a $2.5 million theft from Sri Lanka's finance ministry.
- Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma stated hackers diverted funds to other bank accounts.
- The incidents are suspected to be business email compromise attacks.
- Business email compromise scams are a significant source of cybercriminal profits, causing billions in losses.
- These security lapses increase pressure on Sri Lanka's government amidst its economic recovery from the 2022 debt crisis.
- It is unclear if the two thefts are linked, and investigations are ongoing.